New Structure Positions CRC for Ministry in the 21st Century

The new governance structure approved by Synod 2015 will allow the Christian Reformed Church to respond more quickly and creatively to the changing circumstances of doing ministry in the 21st Century, says Dr. Steven Timmermans, executive director of the CRC.

Especially, he added, the new structure will re-align and streamline operations in ways that make it easier for the CRC to adapt its mission and ministries to meet the needs of individual congregations.

"This is important work," Timmermans said. "Although we are substantially re-aligning how we are governed, we will continue to do great ministry through all of our agencies and educational institutions."

“The CRC values all of its agencies and offices and all of the ministry that they are doing. We are not trying to change that. Instead, we are trying to simplify the way they are governed.”

After approving the new governance model, synod established a transition committee and gave it until 2018 or sooner to prepare recommendations about how to make the new denominational structure a reality.

Among other things, synod approved a plan that gives a greater voice to the classes of the CRC.

Under the plan, the 30-member Board of Trustees, as well as the boards of three mission agencies, would transition to a 60-member Council of Delegates (COD). The council would have one member from each of the CRC’s 48 classes, as well as 12 at-large members who would provide specific expertise and skills.

Synod's approval included a committee structure for the Council of Delegates. A Global Missions committee will  focus on the work of Christian Reformed World Missions, Christian Reformed Home Missions, and Back to God Ministries International. World Renew will also connect to the Council of Delegates in this way.

Global Missions is one of Five Streams of ministry that Synod 2013 endorsed. The other streams include Faith Formation, Servant Leadership, Loving Mercy and Doing Justice, and Gospel Proclamation.

Different committees will address the work of these streams and other committees will focus on traditional areas such as finances and facilities.

Synod 2015's decision comes after more than 30 years of discussion about overhauling the way in which the ministry work of the CRC is governed.

Specifically, the current plan emerged and began to unfold in 2011 after a time "of stress in the CRC," said Rev. Jul Medenblik, president of Calvin Theological Seminary who presented the proposal to synod.

"At that time, we asked the question of where are we going in terms of structure, culture and leadership?" said Medenblik.

"We put ourselves on a trajectory to capture the flow of our ministries in a different way."

Synod 2011 appointed a Task Force Reviewing Structure and Culture to begin this process by talking to people and groups all across the CRC.

The task force reported back to synod in 2012, 2013, and 2014, giving updates and making recommendations, and presented its final report this year.

The task force did a number of things, including identifying the Five Streams as ministry priorities that focus the work done by the CRC and its agencies and ministries.

"The Five Streams have become an effective tool to allow our churches and classes to be increasingly more effective in expressing the good news in God’s kingdom that transforms lives and communities worldwide," says Timmermans.

The task force made several other recommendations that have been implemented, including a congregational services team to better serve churches and pathways to cultivate bi-nationality in the CRC.

"We have seen God at work in some wonderful ways and in guiding us to where we should go," said Medenblik.

In its report to Synod 2015, the task force emphasized that the new structure addresses the reality that the CRC is congregationally based and that denominational offices and agencies should be structured to "serve, expand, and enhance the ministries of the local congregations in their local and global community."

The report says that to do this the new structure must encourage the CRC to move from a committee structure to a  ministry team structure and at the same time be nimble enough "to come alongside congregations quickly and respond to significant shifts in the environments in which congregations serve."

Tom Cooper, an elder delegate from Pleasant Street CRCin Classis Atlantic Northeast, was a member of the advisory committee that reviewed the report on structural changes. He said is pleased the CRC has shown the willingness to address the changes necessary to adapt to what the future might have in store.

"In my work in the high-tech business, to survive, organizations must be able to act nimbly to respond to rapid market changes and competitive pressures at an increasingly faster pace," said Cooper.

"In this world of instant global communication, big data, and business intelligence, we can no longer afford to plan every last detail of a large, multi-year project before getting underway.

"In reality, you have to set an approximate distant target, and leave many questions unanswered until the ‘last responsible moment,' because you can then make your decisions based on the best information at that time."

Cooper said he was "very pleased and impressed that synod was willing to proceed with agility, without all questions answered up front."

The three-year transition process, he said, will give the denomination, with the guidance of its top leadership, the necessary time to continue planning, reviewing what it is doing and making adjustments when necessary.

"I agree that the changes we triggered will, over time, increase ministry alignment, and create certain efficiencies in execution.

"But perhaps more importantly, it demonstrates an ability to act with agility, trusting in God and the excellent leadership he has provided, to minister effectively in a rapidly changing culture with the unchanging, eternal truth of the gospel."